


Lucky Penny

by orphan_account



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: A literal shit ton of OCs, Jaeger pilot!Hugo, Multi, Ron acts like a jerk, Rose is concerned, one's gay!, squib!Hugo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-09
Updated: 2015-09-18
Packaged: 2018-04-19 22:16:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4763045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No letter came for Hugo Weasley, the son of two of the three members of the Golden Trio. He decided to become a Jaeger pilot instead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: No Letter Arrived

Hugo Weasley grew up to be a perfectly normal wizarding child in spite of the fact that his parents were both a part of the Golden Trio that played a major role in the defeat of the Dark Lord Voldemort when they were teenagers.

His two-years-older sister Rose often told him of the splendors of Hogwarts, of how much he’d love it. She spoke of her friends—a bloke named Malfoy, in particular, which always made cousin Al laugh—and teachers, of classes and activities. Her stories always excited Hugo, and he began to count the days until his Hogwarts letter would arrive.

It never crossed his mind that the letter wouldn’t come. After all, his family was full of wizards! His mother was the only one of the Weasley-Potter clan (as he’d come to call it in his mind by that point, as they were simply too large to be a common “family.”) that was Muggle Born, and even then she was known as the “Brightest Witch of Her Age” (His dad always teased her about that). When Lily, his only cousin his age and the daughter of the famous Harry Potter, got her letter, he started to worry. “What if it doesn’t come?” he asked his uncle.

Uncle Harry simply smiled that lopsided smile of his, crinkled his green eyes, and ruffled Hugo’s red-brown hair. “Give it time.”

July passed to August, and August passed to September, and Hugo’s family was forced to face the truth. He hadn’t received a letter, and he never would.

Hugo wasn’t a wizard.

Hugo was a squib.

 

 


	2. Chapter One: Saint Vincent Ferrer Catholic Boarding School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hugo makes two friends and a decision that will change his life forever.

Hugo, upon realizing that there was no possibility that he would ever get into Hogwarts, asked his parents to enroll him in a Muggle boarding school. While he’d never say it to them, he knew they would try to coddle him, unsure of what to do with a son that wasn’t magically talented. And so, with a few called-in favors and a large bribe, Hugo became the newest student of Saint Lawrence’s Catholic Boarding School in southern England.

While Hugo was by no means popular (the combination of his long nose, bushy hair, buck teeth, and lack of electronical knowledge weren’t exactly attractive attributes), one brave student approached him in the lunchroom as Hugo piled some of the passably good cafeteria food on his tray a week after the start of term. “I’m Alec,” the blond boy said, thrusting an eager hand out to shake his own, “Alec Spicer. I live in the dorm next door to yours.”

“Ah, Hugo Weasley. Pleased to meet you.”

“You know,” Alec continued as they found a seat in the corner of the room, “people’ve been talking about you.”

“Really?” said Hugo, taking particular interest in the crust of his salmon sandwich.

“Yeah. It’s a bit odd, you know, for a new kid to show up in year six. Most kids start out here in year one.”

Having (thankfully) inherited his mother’s brains, Hugo was able to detect the unasked question. “Well, y’see, everyone in my family’s always gone to this school in Scotland, but it’s really exclusive, and we were all waiting for my acceptance letter. Except, it didn’t come. And it’s not something I go out for again. If you don’t start when you’re eleven, you don’t go.”

“Why weren’t you accepted?”

Hugo shrugged. “I wasn’t special enough, I guess.”

“My mum says everyone’s special, even if they don’t see it themselves,” Alec said, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. “Hey, before I forget, what kind of video games do you like?”

“Video games?”

“Y’know, video games. Computers, Nintendo, that kinda stuff.”

“Ah,” Hugo flushed and ducked his head. “My family doesn’t really have any electronics or stuff. My Uncle Harry and my mum did growing up, so I understand the concept of them, but I’ve never really used them.”

Alec looked horrified. “You’re coming to my room after classes so I can properly educate you.”

* * *

 Alec quickly became Hugo’s best friend. With his guidance, he learned how to interact with his classmates and was soon able to carry on like a normal boy who hadn’t been raised to believe he was a wizard. He played video games, read comic books, and slept in class.

Hugo didn’t know what to talk about to his family on breaks, except for Grandad Weasley, who was eager to soak up any information Hugo’d learned about Muggles while he was at school. His cousins were much the same, as if they were walking on broken glass around him. Even Rose, his cool older sister, held her tongue, as if the tiniest thing would send him into a jealous rage. Oddly enough (or, perhaps, as to be expected), Hugo was eager to return to school, where he actually felt more at home at than in the Burrow he’d grown up in.

He’d barely gotten settled back into his dormitory room when a quick series of frenzied knocks fell upon his door. Alec leapt on him as soon as the door was open, shouting, “Ohhugoimissedyouhowwaschristmaswhatdidyougetdidyoumissmetoo?”

“Slow down, Alec,” Hugo coached, prying his friend off of him. “What’s got you so excited?”

“You’re my best friend and _you don’t have a working telephone for me to talk to you with_ so I went through withdrawals,” Alec said, pouting.

Hugo’s heart fluttered. The realization that he was someone’s best friend was astounding to him. For the last six months, he’d beaten himself up about his status as a squib, and here someone was, normal as can be, proclaiming their attachment to him.

Of course, Hugo didn’t voice any of this. “Well, it’s not exactly my fault my family’s filled with technophobes.”

* * *

With year nine came two major impacts on Hugo’s life: puberty and Penny Ruffins.

Puberty was a change he’d expected, though the preparation made it no less unpleasant. Uncontrollable hormones, hair in places hair ought not be in, and his voice cracking went unnoticed in the sea of other puberty-stricken boys, however, and that made it a bit more bearable.

Nothing on earth could have prepared him for Penny Ruffins.

If Alec was to be believed, it was a rare occurrence for someone to transfer in to Saint Lawrence after elementary school. So when, during home room, the sister in charge of the class announced a new student, everyone was immediately at attention. Sister Olga (yes, that was actually her name) called the newcomer in.

The first thing that attracted Hugo to her was her bright red hair. He wondered briefly if Penny was a long-lost Weasley cousin, making him the only squib in the family no longer, but her facial structure made him throw that theory out immediately. She looked nothing like anyone else in his family.

The other thing was the fact that she was unabashedly wearing the boy’s uniform. She made no effort to disguise herself as a male, with that bright red hair tumbling down her back in a tangle of curls and her bust clearly pushing against the uniform’s blazer, but she wore it nonetheless.

To say the least, Penny Ruffins’s sudden and unprecedented appearance made waves, and those waves turned into an all-out tsunami when, that day at lunch, she dropped herself in a seat at Hugo and Alec’s usual table and said, “Wanna be friends?”

Rumors started, none of which will be repeated here because they were all idiotic or explicit in nature. Penny cared for none of it and, following their new friend (because of course Hugo and Alec said yes), the boys brushed it off as well. “After all,” Penny said as they lounged in Hugo’s room one rainy afternoon, “who cares what those idiots think as long as we’ve got each other?”

* * *

Year nine came and went, as most years tended to do, and Hugo prepared for year ten without any inkling as to what was going to happen. Unbeknownst to him, the magical world was in a tizzy. One of their Seers had had a terrifying vision but was refusing to share it with anyone.

Then, just after Hugo’d gotten settled into his now familiar dorm room he somehow kept getting, the first Kaiju landed in San Francisco.

The student body had been at breakfast then, and every single television in the room was set to the news. They watched in horror as Trespasser destroyed the city and took thousands of lives. Classes were suspended, and while most students would have taken the opportunity to relax, Saint Lawrence students cowered in fear in their rooms. Hugo later learned that many families withdrew their children in order to keep them closer to home.

Hugo’s own mother tried to do the same. Being Muggle born, she was able to work electronics better than his father, and she’d called a few days after the incident. “Hugo, I just heard about San Francisco. I want you to come home.”

“Are you making Rose leave Hogwarts?”

His mother sounded exasperated. “Hugo, that’s different—”

“No, Mum, it’s not! You think Rose’ll be safer at Hogwarts because you went there! This school is safe, Mum. My friends are here, and I won’t be able to contact them if I leave. I’m fine here.”

“Hugo,” his mother pleaded, “be reasonable! We just want you to be safe!”

“No, you want me near. Mum, this thing is nowhere near Britain. I’ll be fine here. We’re on lockdown and classes are suspended. No one is going to leave. We are fine.”

He didn’t give his mother a chance to respond before he hung up.

* * *

 The next few years passed in a blur. With the world being plagued by Kaiju, as the horrendous monsters were named, the only worthwhile professions anymore were military. No one cared about school or college anymore.

“I’m thinking about joining the Jaeger Program,” Alec said to Hugo and Penny one day, about half a year before graduation. “I reckon it’s the only thing worth doing.”

The three of them were sitting in Hugo’s dorm room, watching old movies and eating popcorn and candy and drinking enough soda to put someone into a sugar coma. This was a common occurrence for the three friends; if you were unable to find one of them, you would surely find them in Hugo’s room.

Penny grew concerned. “Alec, that’s dangerous! You could be killed!”

“Or I could be an international hero!”

“Why are you telling us this?” Hugo asked.

Alec suddenly turned sheepish, turning his head away from his friends. “I, erm, was hoping you’d come with me.”

“What?” Penny hissed.

“I want Hugo to be my co-pilot and I want you to be our technician. Penny, admit it—you’re a bloody brilliant mechanist. You’re the top engineering student! And there’s no one I’d trust to be inside my head except for you, Hugo.”

“Alec,” Penny insisted, “Britain doesn’t even have a Jaeger Program! If we went along with your demented plan, we’d have to go abroad. Where would we get the money for that?”

“See, I’ve spoken with the headmaster. He’s agreed to pay for travel expenses if we get accepted!”

“Alec!”

“Alright,” Hugo said rather abruptly. “I’ll do it.”

“Hugo!”

Alec grinned broadly, clapping his best friend on the back. “I knew you’d do it, mate.”

Penny sighed. “You’re both morons and you’re going to get yourselves killed.”

“You’d better come with us, then, and make sure we don’t,” Alec said cheekily.

* * *

Hugo’s family was horrified when he told them of his decision at Christmastime. “Hugo, no,” his mother said, clutching at his hands. “No, you can’t!”

“I bloody well can!” Hugo shot back. “This is the one chance I have to do something extraordinary with my life!”

“Don’t speak to your mother that way!” his father roared. “You’re still a minor in the Muggle world! You can’t enlist without our permission!”

“By the time I graduate, I’ll be an adult! I can do whatever I please then!”

“But not right now! Hugo Arthur Weasley, I FORBID you from enrolling in the Jaeger Program!”

“I’ve made up my mind! I’m going to do it, and there’s not a thing you can do to stop me!”

His father’s face was as red as his hair. “IF YOU LEAVE THIS COUNTRY,” he roared, “DON’T BOTHER COMING BACK!”

“FINE!”

Hugo slammed the door on the way out.

* * *

 “My parents disowned me,” Hugo told Alec and Penny when they returned from winter break. “My father told me to not bother coming back.”

“Oh, Hugo,” Penny said, wrapping her arms around his middle. “We’re your family now.”

“Yeah, mate,” said Alec, wrapping his arms around the two of them in a brotherly bear hug.

“Thank you guys, so much.”

* * *

 Two years later, Hugo and Alec were done with their training, and Penny was done designing the perfect Jaeger for the two of them.

It was tall, of course. A Mark III, her metal was a coppery colour and shined with newness. “She’s beautiful,” Hugo breathed, gazing up at their Jaeger. “Brilliant job, Penny!”

Their mechanic flushed slightly and started tugging on her ponytail. “Thanks, Hugo. I had some help.”

“Well, mate,” Alec said, giving Hugo and Penny a one-armed hug, “what should we name her?”

“It seems only right,” said Hugo, casting a glance at the two of them, “that we name her after the person that created her. How does Lucky Penny sound?”

Penny started blushing again, and Alec grinned like a madman. “Sounds perfect, Hugo. We’d better get started on making a logo for her, eh?”

They ended up using their old school’s coat of arms—a white shield with two crossing yellow arrows with the name “Saint Vincent Ferrer Catholic Boarding School” printed in bronze letters underneath. However, instead of the school’s name, they had Penny write “Lucky Penny” in her best handwriting, easily large enough to fill the void.

“Perfect,” the three breathed as one. 


	3. The Drift

Hugo and Alec suited up for their first Drift simulation together a few days after arriving at the Los Angeles Shatterdome.

While it may have seemed odd to most others—the fact that two co-pilots hadn’t drifted together before getting their Jaeger—the fact was, their instructors at the Jaeger Academy on Kodiak Island never paired them up for simulations. They knew that they were drift compatible, and that was enough. There was  no need to get them suited up every day.

However, as their suits were put on, Hugo suddenly got a feeling of dread. Within moments, Alec would learn everything there was to know about the magical world. And, had Hugo judged him wrong, within the next day the magical world would be a scientific experiment. The very thought made him shudder. Sure, his family had disowned him, but he hadn’t disowned them. What if they were hurt because of Hugo’s brash decision.

_“Without trust, a drift will fail.”_

The words of one of Hugo’s instructors rung true in his head. I have to calm down, he thought, taking a few deep breaths as the spinal clamp was attached to his drive suit. I have to trust Alec. He’s been my best friend for six years. I can trust him.

Alec grinned wildly at Hugo as they stepped into Lucky Penny’s conn. pod, his peridot eyes shining with childlike excitement. “Ready to get in my head?” he asked.

“Always,” Hugo replied.

“ _Looking good, boys,_ ” came Penny’s voice over the intercom. As Lucky Penny’s main technician, she would always be in the control center when they drifted. “ _I swear, if you mess my Jaeger up, I’m kicking both your arses five ways to Sunday._ ”

“Roger that, Pen,” Hugo replied.

“ _Neural handshake in five…_ ”

Hugo breathed in deeply. _TrustAlecTrustAlecTrustAlec…_

“ _Four…_ ”

Out of the corner of his eye, Hugo saw Alec’s hand twitch slightly.

“ _Three…_ ”

Lucky Penny’s engine hummed underneath them.

“ _Two…_ ”

He started to shake (in fear? anticipation? excitement?).

“ _One…_ ”

Here goes, Hugo thought.

“Neural handshake initiating.”

**My broom won’t levitate, can’t play with the oth** ers keep staring at me, don’t look like dad, blonde ha **ir and green eyes, “Don’t get too close to him, Rosie, Grandad Weasley would never forgive yo** u’re a bastard, a bastard, not m **y son doesn’t have a letter, why not, he should be going to Hogwarts, he’s normal** ly five year olds don’t board, but we’ll make an exception, for your husband, welcome to Saint Vincent Ferr **er Catholic Boarding School, big, unfamiliar, muggles everywhere, no cousins, no frien** ds, finally have a friend, red hair and brown eyes and a long nose, f **un, games, my own person, Alec is my friend, my best frien** d, Penny’s here, she’s pretty, but I don’t like girls, Hugo likes her, jealous, he was my friend fi **rst fight with Mum and Dad, I can’t use magic, I’m not a Weasley, not really, my family is ashamed, I’m wor** th everything, you’re worth everything, Hugo, my best friend, my brother **you’re my brother,** **Penny’s my sister, real family**

And then they both snapped back into the present. “That,” Hugo breathed, “was intense.”

“Yeah,” Alec whispered back.

“ _Good job, boys_ ,” Penny said. “ _Neural handshake strong and holding, and neither of you chased the RABIT. Pretty swell for a first-time drift. Wanna try some movements?_ ”

As one, both Rangers put their left fist out and flashed a thumb’s up.

“ _Brilliant._ ”

 

* * *

 

“You know,” Hugo said later as the two of them sat in their room (He was laying on the bottom bunk while Alec lounged on their couch), “the person that controls the right hemisphere is the dominant, right?”

“Yeah.”

“That means you’d bottom, right?”

Alec flushed and shot straight up in his seat. “I knew you saw that! Why didn’t you say anything?”

Hugo shrugged as well as one could while lying down. “I figured that if you never told Penny, you didn’t want people to know. You’re doing a pretty good job of keeping my secret so far.”

“The existence of magic is a way bigger secret that my being gay, Hugo.”

“That’s why it’s an even bigger deal that you’re keeping it, Alec.”

Alec sighed and settled back down onto the couch. “I’m never going to win an argument against you, am I?” he asked rhetorically.

“Probably not.”

And then there came a fierce knocking on their door, and they had to go to the mess hall for dinner with Penny.

 

* * *

 

The subsequent Drifts were much less intense, to both pilots’ relief. Because so many of their memories were shared, Drifts became easier and easier, until they were eventually able to pass in and out with ease.

With this practiced ease came another side effect of the Drift, one they’d been warned about in the Academy. Eventually, they were subjected to a watered-down version of the Drift in their everyday lives. They could tell what the other was thinking, feeling, craving—it made communication pretty much mute.

This new feature to their lives frustrated Penny to no end. The boys, of course, used its potential to the fullest in order to irritate their dear sister. Their near-telepathic communication made pulling pranks off much easier, and Hugo used everything Uncle George taught him as a child to the extreme. After one particular event that dyed Penny’s skin a bright fuchsia shade for a few days, however, the boys were subjected to a prank of Penny’s own: due to her talent in pulling strings, they were suspended from Drift simulation for a week. The prolonged absence of the headspace weakened the empathy.

Penny gloated.

 

* * *

 

It wasn’t until a month after their stationing that Hugo and Alec got a real taste of Kaiju action.

The day started off as normally as it could for two Jaeger rangers. They woke up at six in the morning for some Kwoon Combat Room training, scampered off to the mess hall for breakfast with Penny, played the X-Box in the rec room until lunch. Then, just as they were sitting down between Penny and another Jaeger tech whose name they didn’t know, the Kaiju alarm went off.

“Category 2 Kaiju activity at the Breach. Category 2 Kaiju activity at the Breach. Pilots Weasley, Spicer, Jones, Williams, North, and Mark suit up. Repeat, pilots Weasley, Spicer, Jones, Williams, North, and Mark suit up.”

* * *

 

Kaiju fighting was terrifying.

As the newest pair, Hugo and Alec were instructed by the two veteran teams to stay back. The Kaiju, a massive beast that looked like a cross between a bird and a shark, dwarfed Lucky Penny by several meters. It easily tore the right arm of Jones and Williams’s Jaeger, Maple Burger, off, and North’s voice over the intercom reported that theirs was officially out of commision.

“Lucky Penny!” came the commander’s voice, “Do something!”

And do something they did.

Hugo and Alec charged the beast with a battle cry, using all those months of fighting experience to beat the crap out of it. Neither of them would remember much about that fight afterwards (Penny chalked it up to adrenaline), but they were later told that they had been very impressive.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, this chapter is short. The next one is longer, I swear!
> 
> Next time: Hugo's life at Saint Vincent Ferrer Catholic Boarding School


End file.
